I'm tempted to say go to an eliptical only if you're sure about your malfunction procedures. I think that's where the major "undiscovered" risk lies. I see a lot of new eliptical jumpers chopping a lot from recoverable canopies - or trying to solve problems I wouldn't waste any time over.

Although I jump one - many of my peers with well over 4000 dives are now jumping "tapered" or "Light Eliptical" canopies.

Speak to your instructors. They've seen you land and will be able to give the best advice.

I posed this same question a week or 2 ago. My way of thinking leans toward maintaining the same wingload and going elipitical. The prerformance idfference is enough for you to play with . And as was discussed when I asked, the pilot has more to do with the performance than the shape. or wingload

I am Jumping an Electra. (Parachutes de France). It is Sabre-like I don t know if the better would be getting another Electra a bit smaller, or keep the same wingloading and go to some other shape

Squeak, I totally agree with you: The pilot is the most important for the performance... And neither want I go to something crazy and kill myself trying to swoop a pocket rocket. But I feel I want to try a bit more, and to get more with the canopy I have, I have to be very aggressive on it... I would prefer a bit more responsiveness...

That s why I want tu change, but I think the same as you do: changing shape AND size at a time is too much, so what? Shape or size???

If you want to go elliptical I would suggest that you try an elliptical at the same WL you fly now to see if you like the way it flies.

Demo it for a while if you can (20-30 jumps). If you like it try the elliptical at the 1.33.

Either way I would not downsize and change planeform at the same time.

I agree.

I suggest trying both options before you buy. Fly a more aggressive canopy (ie Stiletto, Crossfire, Cobalt) in the same size as you're flying now. Then fly something closer to what you have (ie Sabre, Sabre2, Safire, Hornet) a size smaller. Then if you want, try the more aggressive canopy in the smaller size.

And like Ron said, do 20-30 jumps on each one if at all possible. One or two jumps isn't enough to fully explore the differences between what you're flying now and what you're demoing.

Isn't the Electra F111 bottom skin (so more like a pure square Silhouette? but then again, its gets difficult to compare canopies that are not the same! lol)

The Electra is the successor to the Merit, and, if memory serves, has a somewhat longer toggle range than the Merit though still shorter than a Silhouette, is a hybrid (ZP topskin, lopo bottom skin) same as Merit and Silhouette and is tapered same as Merit and Silhouette. It doesn't have the .. well, positive openings a Merit exhibits, but it still turns rather aggressively, requiring less toggle stroke than the Silhouette for mostly the same rate of turn and dive.

The answer to your original question is impossible to give, because you don't say what you want in a canopy.

I'm still flying the Silhouette 170 @ 1.3 I bought at 130 jumps, I now have 400 jumps on it and I know what I want from my next canopy: a longer recovery arc. I can still have plenty of fun under my present canopy because I fly it a lot harder than I used to do 400 jumps ago. Also, my landings might be more consistent. There really is no reason for me to downsize because I know how to put speed on my canopy, and I do not feel the desire to turn faster. OK, having the option of giving harness input that actually does something without frontriser input might be nice, but I'd have to demo demo demo to find out how other canopies react. I would have a hard time figuring that out with 2 or 3 jumps on a demo canopy.

OK, that's me. What do you want in a canopy?

Want more speed? Go smaller. Want quicker turns? Go elliptical. Want more flare? Get a different canopy. (No, I don't know which one. Demo.) Want to swoop? You can learn that on your present canopy. Want a smaller rig? Pack tighter. Want a new toy? Get a wingsuit.

And talk to your instructors. They know you, and they might know what you want, even if you don't know it yourself. And they can tell you what you do or should not want for various reasons.

It would be more something like this. I can indeed have some funny quick turns, but with a lot of front riser input, and If I don t stop it I will end with the same arms as Arnold Schwarzenegger

Quote:

Want more flare? Get a different canopy. (No, I don't know which one. Demo.)

I am OK with the flare I have

Quote:

Want to swoop? You can learn that on your present canopy.

I d like to learn to swoop, but I d like to live to know my children (and as I don t want any for the time being, I still want to live). In fact I am learning to swoop, but very progressively, with very high riser input. But I am OK to let it be to learn from a new canopy.

Quote:

Want a smaller rig? Pack tighter.

Why would I want a smaller rig, I would lose it :)

Quote:

Want a new toy? Get a wingsuit.

Yeah or just a cam!!!

Thanx to all for the advices, I understand just a bit better what difference between changing shape and changing WL. Of course I won t take a decision without demoing the two of them, but right now it helps me

Thanx to all for the advices, I understand just a bit better what difference between changing shape and changing WL. Of course I won t take a decision without demoing the two of them, but right now it helps me

Cool, just understand that ellipticals can also have some bad traits as well.

You have to start flying the canopy before you throw the pilot chute.

Have an Instructor talk to you about it...(Find an Instructor that jumps an elliptical to talk to, not the one that jumps the manta).

I know, that s what worries me a bit... I don t like very much the possibility of getting spiraled in case of line twist, but on the other hand, if I downsize and some day I go to elliptical I won t know know better how to "pilot before throwing the PC", and it will be harder to learn. If I change shape first I have the opportunity to learn it on a lightly loaded canopy.

(I have the same reasoning with swoop learning: I am glad I have a big canopy and I can learn to swoop on it, while if I had gone directly to a pcket rocket I would maybe be able to land it, but not to try to swoop it)

know, that s what worries me a bit... I don t like very much the possibility of getting spiraled in case of line twist, but on the other hand, if I downsize and some day I go to elliptical I won t know know better how to "pilot before throwing the PC", and it will be harder to learn.

Not really, you will have much more experience so it might be easier. At 100 jumps you still think about being stable when you pull, by the time you have 1,000 its pretty close to natural.

In reply to:

If I change shape first I have the opportunity to learn it on a lightly loaded canopy.

(I have the same reasoning with swoop learning: I am glad I have a big canopy and I can learn to swoop on it, while if I had gone directly to a pcket rocket I would maybe be able to land it, but not to try to swoop it)

And all of the above is a VERY healty way to look at it.

You can always jump the cool pocket rocket if you live long enough to learn the skills to handle it on larger canopies.